Wood carving profession: Need passion, love for the job

With skillful hands, rich imagination and passion for wood carving, over 30 years of dedication to the profession, thousands of wood samples have been "breathed life" by Mr. Le Hoan Anh Kiet ( Phu Tho ward, Thu Dau Mot city) to create high quality, highly artistic works.

From passion has motivated Mr. Le Hoan Anh Kiet to pursue the profession of wood carving for over 30 years.

We arrived at Mr. Kiet's house in the late afternoon, when he was diligently carving on a block of wood. Although the initial lines were just forming, it was not too difficult to recognize that he was carving the image of Maitreya Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree. Perhaps because he was born and raised in the more than 200-year-old Phu Tho wood carving village, famous in Binh Duong , Mr. Kiet had a strong passion for carving since childhood. However, he was the only one in his family to follow this profession.

Mr. Kiet shared that because he loved wood carving, he went to learn this profession at the age of 14. After 5 years of learning the profession, he applied to work at a private carpentry workshop, working and learning practical experience and knowledge. From the sophisticated techniques passed down from his predecessors, combined with his own research, later when he opened a fine art sculpture workshop, he created many unique and aesthetically pleasing wooden sculptures. Currently, the works made by his fine art sculpture workshop are praised by visitors and shoppers.

Mr. Kiet shared that when learning wood carving, in addition to basic techniques, the craftsman must know how to shape, sketch large lines as well as small motifs on each work. The process of creating a wood carving work must go through many stages, such as shaping, breaking wood to create shape, chiseling, sanding, painting...; in which the stage of breaking wood to create shape is the most important. Depending on the shape of the wood, he advises customers on what shape to carve into.

Most of Mr. Kiet's works are created from the roots of dry trees such as thuy tung, cam thi, trac do, lim, sua... From the original raw materials that many people think are worthless, just for firewood, through Mr. Kiet's skillful hands, they have become works with "soul". He has created a unique difference in each work. Mr. Kiet confided that it is also a work on wood, but unlike carpentry, wood carving requires more dexterity, creativity and an artistic "eye". Although they may have the same size and shape, the "spirit" and "soul" of each work are different. The difficulty in crafting tree roots and trunks into artistic wooden works is that there are no ready-made drawings. Therefore, the craftsman must know how to create products based on the shape, color, tumors, and holes on each block of wood, thereby creating vivid details. Artistic wooden sculptures are familiar images to many people such as the four sacred animals, the 12 zodiac animals, Buddha statues, Phuc - Loc - Tho statues, the four noble table tops...

Many people often think that wood carving is a difficult profession to pursue, but it will be easy for those who have passion. I myself am attached to this profession because of my passion and willingness to learn. I also wish to pass on the profession to the next generation, especially those who are dedicated, passionate and talented so that this profession will not be lost or forgotten.

(Mr. Le Hoan Anh Kiet)

Mr. Kiet has been involved in wood carving for more than 30 years. Currently, he earns an average of 180-200 million VND per year from this profession. Mr. Kiet said that to stick with this profession for a long time, it must come from the heart and passion for the profession. When customers bring wood to request to make or place an order, he must advise to create suitable and valuable products without losing the naturalness of the tree stump or roots. Customers often do not understand much about the profession of wood carving, so it is difficult for them to choose a specific shape. Each completed work must go through many stages, requiring the craftsman to be creative, careful, and meticulous in every carving. Each work is like his own brainchild. Like the work of Buddha Maitreya, it takes him 20 days or more to complete the work and deliver it to the customer.

Mr. Kiet added that most of the wood carving process is done by hand. Therefore, when choosing wood, one must be meticulous, not warp-resistant, flexible, tough, not crack when dry, and not be eaten by termites. In addition, the craftsman must be skillful so that the chiseling and carving strokes are sharp, the shape and details of the carving must be vivid and have a "soul"... The difficulty in decorative painting is that the work must have a "soul", the Buddha's face must have a calm and joyful expression. Looking at the same Buddha statue, the viewer must feel the solemnity but tolerance, kindness but firmness against evil.

THOAI PHUONG - HAI DUONG

Source: https://baobinhduong.vn/nghe-dieu-khac-go-can-niem-dam-me-yeu-nghe-a336539.html